Jim Neal Senate Dole North Carolina

Firstly, I want to again congratulate Senator Hagan on her nomination as the candidate to beat US Senator Dole in the 2008 senatorial race. I have told Kay that she has my full support and encourage you to work hard on her behalf.

To the staff, volunteers and bloggers who made our campaign so vibrant I thank you. We were a lean organization running a 21st century grass roots campaign. We took almost 20% (about 250,000) of the votes cast despite our lack of resources and the fact that nobody in NC had a clue who Jim Neal was 7 months ago. I am very proud of each and every person who volunteered their time and contributed to our campaign.

I type away solo at my kitchen table most of the time, but on occasion I get a chance to meet or work with the high-traffic, "A-list" progressive political bloggers inside the Beltway.

Many of them, let's say, have certain ideas about the South and NC. They were skeptical about Jim Neal's chances to win the Dem primary, let alone the Senate seat held by Liddy Dole. But after a ton of work by his dedicated campaign team, a zillion posts about Jim's candidacy at my pad, here and other places, along with poll numbers showing how weak Dole is, things slowly started to turn with the A-listers. And it seemed to happen in a big way after the recent FISA stumble by Kay Hagan.

The good folks at Crooks & Liars (John Amato), Firedoglake (Jane Hamsher), Hullabaloo (Digby), and Down with Tyranny (Howie Klein, who has been the one blogger outside of NC really giving Jim exposure), have put their considerably more influential blogtopia weight behind Jim's run.

Our campaign needs a friend to help...